


Grandfather

by WandererRiha



Series: Even Match [2]
Category: Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Angst, F/M, what if
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27793507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WandererRiha/pseuds/WandererRiha
Summary: What if Sephiroth and Elfe had gotten their act together, but events still more or less progressed as they did in the game?Consider this an offshoot of "Even Match"
Relationships: Elfé/Sephiroth (Compilation of FFVII), Sephiroth/Elfe
Series: Even Match [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2033425
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8





	Grandfather

The duel in Corel wasn’t the only time they met, it was simply the first. They fought at first for their own side, and then for curiosity, then the challenge, and finally the joy. No one save the other two Firsts could claim to have survived a duel with the Silver General. Elfe became the third person to fight him to a draw each and every time.

They were perfectly, evenly matched. Equals. Both generals to their respective troops. Elfe would never simper or fawn over him the way the members of Silver Elite did. Sephiroth would never forget that she was strong and wily, and so much more than a woman in a position more commonly held by men. She was the leader of Avalanche for a reason, after all.

At first they’d only kissed, already flushed and breathing hard from a fight. Sephiroth had asked, and she’d refused him. It was only fair. Much greater risk for a woman, and all the jokes about SOLDIERs and mako were true. So he understood, even if it left him distracted and frustrated for days afterwards. And then, quite unexpectedly, she had said yes. It was unlikely they’d ever get another chance. He couldn’t pawn off Shinra with excuses forever. Eventually they’d have to figure something out, but for now, for a few precious moments, they thought only of each other.

\--

It wasn’t just the Zirconiade that was draining her strength and making her ill. Virtually surrounded by men, and dressed in baggy fatigues, her secret would be safe for a while yet. Indeed, given the on-the-run vigilante lifestyle and Zirconiade’s protection, Elfe had hoped the problem would take care of itself. Zirconiade wouldn’t let her down. If anything, the constant cramps and nausea ought to be proof of _something_. Yet even after Fuhito’s betrayal, after the scattering of Avalanche, after the man who said he was her father had spirited her off into hiding, nothing had happened. She was still pregnant. And she couldn’t hide it forever.

When Veld dragged her to the third specialist- a woman this time- the doctor’s first question was not regarding Elfe’s steadily rotting arm and the materia eating her alive, but about the new life forming inside her.

“How far along are you?”

Elfe shrugged, though she could have given the date and even the time. “Three months? Four? Not sure.”

Veld stared at her in naked shock. “You were going to tell me about this when?”

Elfe did not look at him. “You didn’t need to know.”

Not wanting to have an argument in the doctor’s office, Veld had quite literally bitten his tongue and held back any further remarks.

“We’re going to the OB next,” he growled once the appointment had concluded, all but dragging her along by her good arm. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice eventually? I wasn’t allowed in the delivery room back then, but I was there when you were born. I’ve done the baby thing. I’m not a complete idiot.”

“Never said you were.”

That made him stop short and he turned and looked at her.

“What was I supposed to tell you?” she asked, honestly wanting to hear his reply. “What was I supposed to do? I’m almost halfway into it and I’m not _that_ much bigger than when I started, though you’re right, that won’t last forever.”

“You should have been looked at earlier,” Veld insisted. “I should have taken better care of you.”

“I’m an adult,” she reminded him. “Whatever happens, happens. I honestly expected it to terminate on its own, what with Zirconiade and everything else.”

“But it didn’t.”

“But it didn’t.”

Veld stood quiet, a pensive look on his face. “Do I get to know who’s the father?”

Elfe shrugged. “Think about it,” was all she told him.

They stood silent for a moment more and then Veld violently swore under his breath.

“Yeah.”

“Gods of Gaia, girl. You know how to pick ‘em.”

She offered him a crooked grin. “Worth it.”

\--

Against all odds, research, and statistics, she had a girl. Most SOLDIERs who married only had sons. Perhaps because of Zirconiade, Veld received a granddaughter. Elfe had agreed to treatment for her arm, but not until after her daughter had been born. By then, her right hand had become withered and useless, the skin blackened and dying.

“Take it off,” she said as if giving instructions for a haircut. “It’s dead anyway.”

“Darlin’ you just had a baby,” Veld protested. “Wait until your body stabilizes a little. Give yourself a chance to recover.”

“I’m not going to recover,” she said, not looking up from her baby, cradled in the crook of her good arm. “We both know that.”

Veld fell silent for a long moment. As much as he wanted to insist that wasn’t true… Well, Elfe knew her own body better than he did.

“You want to name her?”

Veld blinked. “Me?”

Elfe gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Why not? You’ll be the one taking care of her.”

“Not right away.”

“No, not right away. But eventually. Probably sooner rather than later.”

“You givin’ up that easy?”

She shook her head. “No. But once Zirconiade is gone, I can’t make any promises.”

Fair enough, Veld thought.

For several minutes she sat silent, still watching her sleeping daughter.

“Give her Zirconiade when she’s older. She’s gonna need it.”

\--

Elfe gave up her arm, and by association, Zirconiade, a few months later. Although the summon had been steadily draining her strength, it had also been keeping her alive. Without it, Elfe’s health took a sharp dive that no one could reverse.

“I’m sorry, dad,” she said. She’d started calling him that since her daughter had been born, and Veld remained undecided whether he liked it or not. “I never wanted to leave you holding the bag like this.”

“Baby girl, you gave me a granddaughter. It’s my privilege to take care of you both.”

She forced a smile for him. It was the last time.

Elfe’s departure was quick, but not immediate. It took her almost two weeks to die, inch by inch, until there was nothing left. Her daughter wasn’t yet a year old. Elfe was dead, and Sephiroth missing in action. Something about a fire out in a remote mountain village, probably a reactor explosion. Veld held his granddaughter close and wondered, not for the first time, just what the gods were playing at? Surely it would have made more sense to allow Elfe, the Planet’s most staunch protector, to live? Instead, all he had left was this little fragment of her. A tiny girl with tawny hair and sharp green eyes, already as old and wise as the Lifestream itself. What was Veld going to do with her? With himself?

He didn’t know.


End file.
